carpal tunnel
It sounds like malpractice to me. That’s what I’ve been thinking ever since learning how poultry workers are treated (and not treated) for work-related injuries.
The latest example comes from Pilgrim’s Pride, the largest US poultry processing company. Last week OSHA issued the first-ever citation in the industry for inappropriate medical care of repetitive motion injuries. The citation indicated:
“The employer failed to make timely appropriate medical referrals for employees with injuries related to chronic and acute exposures and incidents, heavy lifting and persistent and continuous pain in…
Will calls for humanely-treated poultry workers supersede commentaries (e.g., here, here) about mistreatment of chickens?
OSHA’s action last week may help us move in that direction. The agency issued penalties to a Delaware poultry processing facility for serious safety hazards. Allen Harim Foods received citations for two harmful working conditions that I've heard poultry workers complain about most strongly: The fast-paced repetitive motion of cutting chicken parts which cripples their hands, and restrictions on using the bathroom which strains (and worse) their bladders.
The…
Many Senate Democrats try to paint themselves as defenders of working people. They rail against their colleagues who are "in the pockets of corporations and the rich." But what they say, and what they do are two different things. This time, seven Democratic Senators are ready to screw poultry workers to please the owners of the poultry companies.
We've been writing for nearly two years on the USDA's plan to "modernize poultry inspection" (e.g., here, here, here, here). It's a plan that will give Tyson, Perdue, Pilgrims' Pride and other poultry producers an additional $250 million a year in…
A fire at a poultry plant in Dehui, China last week killed at least 120 people and injured many others. Some state media reports attribute the fire to an ammonia leak, and medical workers reported that many victims had swollen respiratory tracts consistent with ammonia poisoning. Workers who escaped and victims' relatives cited narrow hallways and locked exits as factors in the alarmingly high death toll.
One report from the BBC describes the factory:
Family members were quoted as saying the factory doors were always kept locked during working hours.
The plant is owned by Jilin Baoyuanfeng…